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Literary Titan Silver Book Award
Celebrating the brilliance of outstanding authors who have captivated us with their skillful prose, engaging narratives, and compelling real and imagined characters. We recognize books that stand out for their innovative storytelling and insightful exploration of truth and fiction. Join us in honoring the dedication and skill of these remarkable authors as we celebrate the diverse and rich worlds they’ve brought to life, whether through the realm of imagination or the lens of reality.
Award Recipients
Just Play Like You Do in the Basement: Coming of Age as The Drummer for The Greatest Entertainer in the World by Rick Porrello
An Inconvenient Witness: The Weight of Ordinary Things by Kevin Casebier
Visit the Literary Titan Book Awards page to see award information.
Real Life is the Inspiration
Rough Diamond, Rough Justice follows a former professional photographer turned MI5 surveillance agent who winds up in the diamond trade, where killing is not optional; it is the only way to survive. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
Real life experiences was the inspiration. As it says at the beginning of Rough Diamond, Rough Justice: This book is a work of fiction, inspired by several real-life events and real people. Names, characters, incidents, and places are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
There was a lot of time spent crafting the character traits in this novel. What was the most important factor for you to get right in your characters?
Reality was the most important factor. As it says in Rough Diamond, Rough Justice when Cain was talking to his best friend:
‘We will have to write that book when we retire,’ Cain suggested.
‘All those secrets,’ said Detective Sergeant Jerry Davis (a member of The Royal Protection Team). ‘Perhaps we will.’
In real life, my best friend unexpectedly died, so I wrote our book alone.
I felt that the action scenes were expertly crafted. I find that this is an area that can be overdone in novels. How did you approach this subject to make sure it flowed evenly?
In real life action can only go so far. Seeing too much in movies, TV series – and having a karate black belt – plus a couple of personal experiences helped me craft the action.
Is this the first book in the series? If so, when is the next book coming out and what can your fans expect in the next story?
This is my first book. I have written an initial 40,000 words of a sequel about Cain, set in South Africa & England. Will I finish it? Time will tell.
Recovering from injuries sustained protecting the Royal Family, Cain embraces a new life and romance in sun-drenched Australia, leaving his past life behind.
But when tragedy strikes, he is on the move again. This time to a new career in the world of diamond dealings in Florida.
Curiosity takes Cain to the diamond world in South Africa, where his past finally catches up with him, the criminal world allies against him and he becomes a killer again.
In Cain’s action-packed escapades, a spectacular betrayal takes him into the rigours of a Chinese prison where the truth about his past begins to unravel.
Aided by a loyal band of friends from the shadowy world of intelligence, he delivers his own particular brand of rough justice.
However, with enemies closing in on all sides, will Cain prevail?
Rough Diamond Rough Justice
Avien Gray’s Rough Diamond, Rough Justice is a gritty and cinematic thriller that follows Cain, a former professional photographer turned MI5 surveillance agent, as he navigates a world of espionage, betrayal, and violence. Starting in early 1990s Britain, where the digital world had yet to take over, the story opens with a stakeout gone wrong and spirals into a bloody encounter that sees Cain commit his first kill. What follows is his slow, reluctant descent into a covert government agency known as the Bureau, an off-the-books group tasked with eliminating threats to national security. Alongside his best friend Jerry, a member of the Royal Protection Team, Cain undergoes a transformation from observer to executioner, trading in his camera lens for a Beretta.
I enjoyed the writing style. It’s punchy and full of swagger, packed with banter, dry wit, and sharp observations. The dialogue pops. There’s a real rhythm to it, almost like watching a well-rehearsed play where the pauses and timing matter just as much as the lines. The early scenes between Cain and Jerry crackle with believable camaraderie. I felt like I was eavesdropping on two lifelong mates who’d seen far too much and still managed to laugh at life’s mess. And the pacing was great as well. It hits the gas early and never really lets up. Even the quieter moments carry a tension, like something’s about to go sideways. And often, it does.
But it’s not just the action that carries the weight. The book dives deep into moral gray areas like what it means to kill, how one justifies it, and what’s left behind after the blood dries. Cain isn’t a gung-ho hero. He’s thoughtful, even reluctant, but deadly when pushed. His reflections after his first kill, mixed with dark humor and flashes of raw honesty, got under my skin. I found myself rooting for him and questioning him at the same time. That tension between duty and humanity gave the story its real punch. I also appreciated the nostalgic backdrop. The pre-digital details, the analog grit. It grounded everything in a tangible, almost tactile realism.
Rough Diamond, Rough Justice is a fierce and memorable read across the world. In Britain, Australia, the United States, South Africa, and a Chinese prison in 2005. It blends old-school spy grit with a modern sense of psychological depth. I’d recommend it to fans of The Spy Who Came In from the Cold who don’t mind a bit more blood and banter, or anyone who enjoys fast-paced thrillers with brains. If you like your action served with sharp edges and a stiff drink, this one’s for you.
Rough Diamond, Rough Justice is a recipient of the Literary Titan Book Award.
Pages: 516 | ASIN : B0DDW2C1XP
The Excruciating Assignment
In Fate Can Toss a Boomerang, a detective faces his own teenage trauma when he investigates the murder of a loathed gym teacher with a dark past. What was the idea, or spark, that first set off the need to write this book?
I attended several different schools growing up. Decades later, I began to hear horror stories from other former students, and they revealed that not one, not two, but three of the female teachers I had known in two different schools had targeted children for perverted purposes.
All of these women were surly, unpleasant, and seemed to deliberately try to make themselves look like “plain Janes.” Two of them had flown completely under the radar, and you couldn’t have picked them out of a crowd for any reason. The third one, on the other hand, had body language that would have been more suitable for an actress playing a stripper in the musical Gypsy, and she behaved seductively around everybody, kids, adults, boys, girls, just whoever was standing in front of her at the moment. This was a sight to behold, let me tell you! She was constantly, ahem, “shaking her maracas” right in everyone’s faces. I thought she was “crazy,” but I was just a child and couldn’t really add all of this up. Nobody was cognizant of child molesters back then, in the early 1970s, and somehow this bizarre situation never got addressed. I’ve always wondered, though, if I could see there was something extremely wrong with this pathetic excuse for a human being when I was just a kid, where were the adults who worked at that school? Were they blind as bats, or what? So when I heard it was even stranger than I had thought back then, and this creature had been trying to seduce little boys, that, and the stories I’d been hearing about the other two teachers as well, was what gave me the idea for writing this book. Everything I’d picked up on about all three of these creepy gals went into the story.
What were some of the emotional and moral guidelines you followed when developing your characters?
It’s a story of a contrast in opposites. I created the main character of Detective Knox Wanamaker as a guy with a very strong moral fiber who always tries to do the right thing. He fought off Petra the child molester when he was a boy, and she didn’t get her way with him. Naturally, she hated him for it. Now he’s stuck with the job of solving her murder, and even though he thinks his town is better off without Petra in it, he goes about fulfilling the excruciating assignment. In contrast, there’s Petra, who couldn’t care less about doing what’s right, and probably doesn’t even know the definition of the word. She’s all about taking whatever she wants for herself, and that includes children’s innocence. She made a mess of her life, and several other people’s lives besides, and now she’s the victim in a whopper of a murder case that falls in Knox’s lap. Some people think their job assignments are bad, but get a load of his!
How did you decide on the title of this novel?
Oh, that one was so much fun to come up with! I was brainstorming a title and zeroed in on the whole idea of “what goes around comes around.” Murder may never be the right course of action to take, yet there is some sense of poetic justice at play with this one, given what Petra was doing to children. It finally caught up with her. So, “Fate Can Toss A Boomerang!”
Can you give readers a glimpse inside the next book you are working on?
I’ve got two more in the works at the moment. The one that should be finished soon involves an American family that inherits property in Argentina during the 1960s, but they don’t realize the lovely mansion they’ve been handed had an outrageous former purpose. That mystery starts up from there!
Author Links: GoodReads | X (Twitter) | Facebook | Website | Amazon
Now Petra is dead, and Knox-older, wiser, and harboring long-buried truths-gets stuck with leading the investigation. As he tries to unravel the mystery behind her violent end, questions spiral. Who killed Petra, and why? Was it revenge? How could it not be? And can Knox finally expose the secrets Petra took to her grave, once and for all?
Literary Titan Gold Book Award: Fiction
The Literary Titan Book Award honors books that exhibit exceptional storytelling and creativity. This award celebrates novelists who craft compelling narratives, create memorable characters, and weave stories that captivate readers. The recipients are writers who excel in their ability to blend imagination with literary skill, creating worlds that enchant and narratives that linger long after the final page is turned.
Award Recipients
Visit the Literary Titan Book Awards page to see award information.
Literary Titan Silver Book Award
Celebrating the brilliance of outstanding authors who have captivated us with their skillful prose, engaging narratives, and compelling real and imagined characters. We recognize books that stand out for their innovative storytelling and insightful exploration of truth and fiction. Join us in honoring the dedication and skill of these remarkable authors as we celebrate the diverse and rich worlds they’ve brought to life, whether through the realm of imagination or the lens of reality.
Award Recipients
The Adventures of Mrs. Hats: The Mayan Headdress by Christopher Corbett
Visit the Literary Titan Book Awards page to see award information.
Calypso Blue: A Len Buonfiglio/Caribbean Mystery
Calypso Blue is a murder mystery set on the lush and vividly imagined Caribbean island of St. Pierre. The story follows Len Buonfiglio, a former New York bartender turned island bar owner, who is reluctantly drawn into a local web of secrets, violence, and intrigue after the suspicious death of Lord Ram, a beloved calypso legend. As the island buzzes with rumors and buried histories start to surface, Len navigates local culture, his own past, and a cast of unforgettable characters to piece together the truth. All the while, the book pulses with the rhythm of soca, rum punch, and the heady, sometimes seedy charm of island life.
The writing is slick, confident, and casually poetic in spots, with Silverman painting scenes that feel both intimate and expansive. What stood out to me most was the deep emotional undercurrent. Len isn’t your average amateur sleuth. He’s haunted, tired, and trying hard not to admit how much he cares. I found myself rooting for him even when he seemed too worn out to root for himself. And the dialogue is sharp, funny, and soaked in local flavor. It felt real, not forced. The island, with all its beauty and bite, practically becomes a character in itself.
I didn’t always feel the plot moved as swiftly as I wanted, especially when the book leans into Len’s reflections or side conversations. But even then, there’s a richness to the detours, whether it’s a discussion about calypso lyrics or a strange bottle of vermouth left on a doorstep, the atmosphere always pulls you back in. It’s a story that trusts its characters and its setting to carry the weight, and mostly, they do.
Calypso Blue is an intriguing whodunit. It’s a meditation on regret, redemption, and the thin line between paradise and ruin. I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys mysteries with heart, vivid settings, and characters that stay with you after the last page. Perfect for fans of Caribbean noir, or anyone who wants to feel the heat of an island mystery without leaving their chair. It’s not a beach read, it’s a beach experience.
Pages: 277 | ASIN : B0F2S5TPW8
1989: An Eye For An Eye
1989: An Eye for an Eye is a riveting and emotionally tangled novel that centers around a decades-old murder case that left deep scars on a small Southern town. At the heart of the story is Ingrid, a woman haunted by her hidden identity, a web of family secrets, and a burning desire to clear her father’s name. After faking her death to go underground, she returns under a new identity, determined to expose the corruption that destroyed her family. What unfolds is a suspense-filled narrative that weaves together revenge, redemption, and revelations, touching on systemic injustice, identity, and the burden of legacy. With alternating perspectives and past secrets slowly coming to light, the novel drips with tension, building a compelling mystery around who’s guilty and who deserves justice.
I found myself genuinely pulled in by Smith’s writing. It’s not fancy or highbrow, but it’s honest and raw, and that made it powerful. The dialogue feels real, like you’re eavesdropping on two people who have been through hell together. The way he builds emotional weight around every choice Ingrid makes, especially the internal tug-of-war between vengeance and doing the right thing, hits hard. That said, the book has a big cast, and a few times I had to flip back to remember who someone was. Still, the pacing and reveals kept me hooked. It’s a big story with layers of betrayal, hidden ties, and long-buried pain. Every time I thought I’d figured something out, another twist would shake it up.
What really got me was the heart underneath all the thriller elements. The relationships, especially between Ingrid and Nicole, carry the emotional muscle of the story. You see how trauma doesn’t just affect one person, it ripples through generations. And when Ingrid gets her moment to finally breathe and step out of the shadows, you feel it. You also feel the price she pays to get there. The moral ambiguity in this book is thick. You’re constantly questioning what’s justified and what isn’t. And while some characters are undeniably evil, others live in this gray space that makes them unforgettable.
It’s gripping, it’s personal, and it asks big questions without offering easy answers. I’d recommend 1989: An Eye for an Eye to anyone who loves mystery, family drama, or stories about strong women navigating impossible choices. If you’re into slow-burning revenge tales that pack a gut punch, this is your kind of read.
Pages: 278
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